God of Hope

Monday April 13, 2026

God of hope.  There is another psalm by which the title of this blog might be arguably more fitting.  However, this is the title and source of strength in my prayer.  In our psalm this morning, the psalmist, David, begins “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits (Psalm 103:1-2).  The psalmist here is calling to the depths of his own being to bless the Lord.  This reminds us of the other psalm(s), where I previously said might be a more fitting psalm for the title of this blog, Psalm 42 and Psalm 43.  In these two psalms, the psalmist is also calling to the depths of his own being to “hope in God”.  There are times in our lives when this is necessary.  There are times when circumstances are discouraging.  There are times when repentance has been made, but restoration is a battle and a process.  The enemy knows our weaknesses and short-comings, so he uses these circumstances to cause doubt and depression.  Thank God that He is faithful!  In Psalm 103, the reason why the psalmist can call upon the depths of his own being to bless the Lord is simply because God is good and He is unchanging.  Consider some of the benefits of God that the psalmist describes:  He forgives ALL your iniquity (v.3), He satisfies you with good things (v.5), He is compassionate and gracious (v.8), and He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve (v.10).  These are just a few of the things the psalmist lists.  There are three things that stand out to me in this psalm:
 (1) the psalmist is aware of some failure in his own life (recent or past, or both).  I say this because one of the benefits of God that he mentions is “He will not always accuse us or be angry forever (v.9).  Have you ever failed and had to wait upon blessings to flow again? 
(2) the description of God’s faithful love, mercy, is endless.  I have heard messages preached and songs written about verse 12 that describes God removing our transgressions as far as the east is from the west.  However, listen to the description of God’s faithful love (mercy), “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him” (v.11).  At its closest point in orbit, the planet Venus is about 25 million miles away.  At it’s closest, Neptune is 2.7 billion miles away, and that is just in our solar system.  How far is the heavens above the Earth? That is the measurement used to describe God’s faithful love towards us. 
 (3) our contribution towards blessing the Lord.  The psalmist calls upon angels of great strength and all of God’s armies and servants to bless the Lord (v.20-21).  He calls upon all of God’s works in all places to bless the Lord (v.21).  That is a mighty list, but then he concludes, “My soul, bless the Lord!” (v.22).  Regardless of your current circumstances, give some thought about the benefits of God this morning and then bless the Lord!